Aggregates: Recycling

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) target and  (b) outturn for the proportion of aggregates that are recycled or from secondary sources used in Government-funded construction projects was in each of the last three years.

Jonathan R Shaw: No targets have been set in respect of the recycling of aggregates and data is not held on the proportion of aggregates that are recycled or from secondary sources used in Government-funded construction projects.

Agriculture: Science

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether, in his role as Director of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development at the Intergovernmental Plenary, the Chief Scientific Adviser is required to act independently of the UK Government.

Jonathan R Shaw: The DEFRA Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Bob Watson, is also Director of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). Professor Watson was appointed as IAASTD Director in an independent capacity and is not representing the UK Government in this role.

Floods: Repairs and Maintenance

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will consider assigning the proceeds of the fine imposed on Severn Trent plc to improvement of the sewage and drainage systems in areas affected by last year's flooding; and if he will make a statement. [Official Report, 22 May 2008, Vol. 476, c. 6MC.]

Phil Woolas: Ofwat is required by law to pay the fines it collects from water companies into the consolidated.

Armed Forces: Repairs and Maintenance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many spare parts were lost in transit in 2007-08.

Bob Ainsworth: Data on losses is not held in such a way that enables the separate identification of 'spare parts'.

Armed Forces: Widowed people

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces widows voluntarily surrendered their pensions on remarriage or cohabitation in each of the last five years; and what the associated saving to the defence budget was in each year.

Derek Twigg: An exercise is currently underway to provide detailed figures. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as this exercise is completed.
	 Substantive answer from Derek Twigg to James Arbuthnot:
	Further to my letter of 14 April 2008,1 am writing to inform you that the exercise undertaken by the Government Actuary's Department has recently been completed. I am now in a position to provide you with a full answer to your parliamentary question (PQ00549U refers).
	You requested details of how many armed forces widows in each of the last five years voluntarily surrendered their pension on remarriage or cohabitation. The following table provides data in respect of the number of pension cessations due to remarriages and cohabitations over the last 25 years. You may agree that this level of detail provides a more comprehensive overview.
	
		
			   Number 
			 1983-86 32 
			 1987-89 54 
			 1990-92 193 
			 1993-95 200 
			 1996-98 204 
			 1999-2001 171 
			 2002-04 230 
			 2005-07 44 
			 Total 1,128 
		
	
	As you are aware, entitlement to an AFPS 75 widow's non-attributable pension ceases in the event of remarriage or cohabitation and the onus is on individuals to notify the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) should there be a change in their personal circumstances. This is a compulsory requirement to comply with the AFPS 75 scheme rules.
	Contrary to these statistics representing a saving to the defence budget, I should point out that costs would have been incurred if these spouses' pensions had not ceased on re-marriage or cohabitation. The estimated capitalised cost of paying back payments (plus interest) to those individuals represented in the table, whose pensions were ceased, as well as the cost of paying those pensions in future would be around £150 million.
	The capitalised cost of removing the cessation condition completely for the future would be between £70 million and £350 million. The reason for the range in figures is that the AFPS 75 statistics are not consistent with the UK population remarriage statistics. This could be due to a reduction in the reporting of remarriage and cohabitation in recent years.
	I am sorry that it has taken so long to provide a substantive reply, but it has required a bespoke exercise to be conducted to generate sufficient data for the scheme actuary to be able to analyse.
	I hope this is helpful.

BOWMAN Combat Radio System

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the average life of VHF manpack batteries for the Bowman radio is;
	(2)  what the average range of the Bowman radio is;
	(3)  how many representations his Department has received about the longevity of the VHF manpack batteries used in Bowman radios.

Bob Ainsworth: The Bowman VHP manpack battery has an average battery life of approximately four years, based on delivery of 300 life cycles. Within these parameters, the VHP radio battery is expected to last between six to 12 hours before it requires recharging, dependent on the intensity of use and the life cycle history.
	There are several types of Bowman radio, which differ in range dependent on radio type, power, antennae, terrain and weather conditions. I am withholding further information as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.
	The Ministry of Defence is not aware of any representations specifically on the longevity of the VHP manpack batteries used in Bowman radios.

Oil: Prices

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what information he holds on the assumptions and predictions made by  (a) each EU country and  (b) each G8 country about the price of oil in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2020 for benchmarking purposes.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 19 May 2008
	The Department is currently in the process of updating its oil price assumptions for the period till 2020, which are used in the Department's analytical work. The last set of future oil price assumptions were published alongside the Energy White Paper in May 2007 and can be found in Annex B of the document titled 'Updated energy and carbon emissions projections: the energy white paper' at the following link:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file39580.pdf.
	However, the Department does not hold information on the oil price assumptions and predictions made by the other EU and G8 countries.
	The US Department of Energy publishes oil price related information on it's EIA website. More information can be found at the following links:
	http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiatf/ieo/index.html
	http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/pdf/0484(2007).pdf

Post Offices: Gloucestershire

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which local authorities in Gloucestershire made submissions to the recent restructuring review for post offices.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director, of POL to reply direct to the hon. member.
	Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Council Dwellings: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many council dwellings have been  (a) sold and  (b) built in Colchester constituency since May 1997.

Iain Wright: Since April 1997, there have been 876 sales of council dwellings and no new dwellings built by Colchester borough council. In the same period, a total of 1,130 new affordable homes have been provided mainly through registered social landlords, of which, 889 were for social rent.

Departmental Consultants

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consultancy firms her Department has commissioned work from in the last 12 months, and for what purpose.

Parmjit Dhanda: A list of contracts awarded for consultancy during the last 12 months, which includes a brief description of the purpose has been deposited in the Library of the House.
	Contracts for under £20,000 are not recorded centrally and details could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) (i) enforcement and (ii) prohibition notices were issued and  (b) prosecutions were brought by fire authorities under the provisions of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in each month since it came into force.

Parmjit Dhanda: This information is submitted to the department via annual returns from each fire and rescue authority, the most recent information available is for 2006-07. As the order came into effect on 1 October 2006, Fire and Rescue Services were not required to provide these data for 2006-07. However 18 authorities provided these figures for the period 1 October 2006 to 31 March 2007. These are set out as follows. A complete set of figures will be available from 2007-08 onwards.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Enforcement notices 721 
			 Prohibition notices 121 
			 Prosecutions 1

Temporary Accommodation

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were living in hostels at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: The information requested is not held centrally.
	The Homeless UK project, run by the Resource Information Service, provides information on hostels and supported accommodation for homeless people in England. There are 1,204 accommodation projects with over 57,000 bedspaces. 246 are direct access hostels with 9,000 bedspaces. Direct access hostels are short-stay emergency services aimed at rough sleepers and those in need of immediate accommodation.
	Data on the number of households placed in temporary accommodation under the homelessness legislation is available in our quarterly statistical release, which provides a breakdown by type of temporary accommodation, including hostels; at the end of December 2007, there were 6,620 households placed in hostels (including women's refuges).

Domestic Violence: Victim Support Schemes

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much funding from receipts from the victim's surcharge was awarded to charitable and voluntary groups who work with victims of domestic violence and domestic abuse in 2007-08;
	(2)  which charitable and voluntary groups that work with victims of domestic violence and domestic abuse received funding from the receipts from the victim's surcharge in 2007-08; and how much each received.

Bridget Prentice: The following table shows the total amount and which groups, with individual amounts, received funding from the victims surcharge for work with victims of domestic violence and domestic abuse in 2007-8.
	The table gives details of the grants. In the main this is to Independent Domestic Violence Adviser Services which support the Specialist Domestic Violence Courts (SDVCs). Seed-funding grants are given to each group subject to confirmation of match funding locally. Continued funding is dependent upon satisfactory reports on performance.
	In a full year the surcharge will raise 16 million of new money. All this money is going directly towards better services for victims of crime and witnesses. These include 3 million for witness care units, 3 million for independent domestic violence advisers and 8 million for other support services for victims, the details of which will be announced shortly. 1,250,000 will be allocated to organisations helping victims of sexual violence, and another 750,000 will be allocated to organisations helping victims of other types of crime.
	
		
			  Independent Domestic Violence Adviser Services supporting specialist domestic violence courts (SDVCs) Seed-funding grants to each group subject to confirmation of match funding locally, 2007-08 
			  Government Office Region  () 
			  London Region  
			 Advance (Hammersmith and Fulham); 20,000 
			 Women's Trust IDVA Service (Kensington and Chelsea) 20,000 
			 Croydon Women's Aid - Croydon SDVC 20,000 
			 London Domestic Violence Co-Ordinating Group (for division) 120,000 
			 Victim Support - Brent SDVC 20,000 
			   
			  Eastern Region:  
			 Bedfordshire IDA Advisors 20,000 
			 Cambridgeshire IDV Advocacy Service - Huntingdon 20,000 
			 Essex Probation Service - Essex SDVC 40,000 
			 Leeway Women's Aid - Norwich SDVC 20,000 
			 Luton Independent IDA Advisors 20,000 
			 Peterborough City Council - Peterborough SDVC 20,000 
			 Suffolk County Council - Ipswich SDVC 20,000 
			 Sunflower Centre - Watford 20,000 
			 East Midlands Region:  
			 Derby CSP - Derby SDVC 20,000 
			 Leicester DVIRP - Loughborough 20,000 
			 Lincoln Women's Aid - West Lines, Lincoln and Grantham 20,000 
			 Mansfield and Ashfield Women's Aid - Mansfield 20,000 
			 Multi agency IDVA service - Chesterfield 20,000 
			 Northampton and Northern Sunflower Centres - Northants 30,000 
			 Women's Aid Advice Centre - Nottingham SDVC 20,000 
			 West Midlands Region:  
			 Arch N Staffs - N Staffs SDVC 20,000 
			 Birmingham and Solihull Women's Aid - Birmingham and Solihull SDVCs 60,000 
			 Coventry Haven - Coventry SDVC 20,000 
			 Shropshire IDVA Service - Shrewsbury, N Shrops, Oswestry 20,000 
			 SOADA - Sandwell SDVC 20,000 
			 Stafford Women's Aid - Cannock Stafford SDVCs 20,000 
			 Stonham - Bromsgrove and Redditch, S Worcs, Kidderminster SDVC 40,000 
			 Stonham -SE Staffs (Burton) SDVC 20,000 
			 Telford IDVA - Telford 20,000 
			 Victim Support - Dudley SDVC 20,000 
			 Walsall DV Forum - Walsall SDVC 30,000 
			 Wolverhampton DV Forum - Wolverhampton SDVC 20,000 
			   
			  Yorkshire and Humberside Region:  
			 Calderdale DV Forum - Calderdale 20,000 
			 DV Services Keighley - Bingley/Bradford 20,000 
			 ER Yorks Council/DVAP - East Riding SDVC 20,000 
			 HALT - Leeds SDVC 40,000 
			 Hull City Council/DA Partnership - Hull SDVC 20,000 
			 Its My Right and Scunthorpe Rape Crisis - Scunthorpe, Grimsby (and Cleethorpes) 40,000 
			 N Yorks Victim Support - Scarborough and Ryedale SDVC 20,000 
			 Rotherham Women's Aid - Rotherham 20,000 
			 Safer Doncaster Partnership - Doncaster SDVC 20,000 
			 Safe@Home - Wakefield 20,000 
			 Service TBC - York and Selby 20,000 
			 Sheffield DA Forum - Sheffield SDVC 20,000 
			 Victim Support - Barnsley 20,000 
			 South East Region: 20,000 
			 Berkshire Women's Aid (Reading, Newbury, Maidenhead) 40,000 
			 Brighton and Hove IDVA Service 20,000 
			 County Council Community Safety DV Team (West Sussex: Worthing, Crawley) 30,000 
			 CRI Domestic Abuse Service (East Sussex: Hastings, Eastbourne, Lewes and Crowborough) 30,000 
			 Early Intervention Project - Portsmouth SDVC 20,000 
			 East Berkshire Women's Aid (High Wycombe, Maidenhead) 40,000 
			 Island Women's Refuge (Isle of Wight) 20,000 
			 Milton Keynes Women's Aid 20,000 
			 Reducing the Risk of Domestic Abuse (N Oxford - Banbury, Oxford) 30,000 
			 Refuge Kent DV Advocacy Service (Kent: Canterbury, Shepway, Ashford, Dover, Thanet) 80,000 
			 Southampton IDVA Service 35,000 
			 Victim Support Hampshire and Isle of Wight - NW Hants (Andover) SDVC 20,000 
			 Victim Support, NE Hants (Alton) SDVC 20,000 
			   
			  South West Region:  
			 Bristol DA IDVA Consortium - Bristol 20,000 
			 Exeter Women's Aid - Exeter SDVC 20,000 
			 Family Matters - E Dorset (Bournemouth and Poole) SDVC; W Dorset (Weymouth) SDVC 40,000 
			   
			 Gloucs DV Support and Advocacy Project - Cheltenham SDVC 20,000 
			 IDVA Service - E and mid-West Cornwall (Bodmin and Truro) 20,000 
			 N Devon Women's Aid - Barnstable 20,000 
			 Plymouth Women's Aid - Plymouth SDVC 20,000 
			 S Devon Women's Aid - Torbay 20,000 
			 Service TBC - North Somerset 20,000 
			 Somerset Change - Sedgemoor (Bridgewater) and S Somerset (Yeovil) SDVC 40,000 
			 Southside Family Project - Bath SW Region 20,000 
			 Survive - N Avon (Yate) SDVC 20,000 
			 Victim Support Wilts - Chippenham and Swindon 40,000 
			   
			  North East Region:  
			 County Durham and Darlington - Durham SDVC 20,000 
			 My Sisters Place - Teeside (Cleveland) SDVC 20,000 
			 North Tees Women's Aid (Stockton) 20,000 
			 Wearside Women in Need - Sunderland 20,000 
			   
			  North West Region:  
			 Blackburn and Darwen District Women's Aid - Blackburn with Darwen SDVC 20,000 
			 Blackpool and Fylde IDVA Service 20,000 
			 Blackpool Advocacy Service - Blackpool and Fylde 20,000 
			 Cheshire County Council - Chester SDVC 20,000 
			 Chorley and S Ribble Service 20,000 
			 Community Safety Team - Wirral SDVC 20,000 
			 DV Family Safety Unit, Crewe Eastern Cheshire 20,000 
			 IDV Advocacy Service - Manchester 20,000 
			 Impact Housing Association - Carlisle SDVC 20,000 
			 Knowsley DV Support Service - Knowsley SDVC 20,000 
			 Lancaster and District Women's Aid 20,000 
			 MAPS Team - Burnley (Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale) SDVC 20,000 
			 Preston Independent DA Service 20,000 
			 Salford Women's Aid - Salford SDVC 20,000 
			 Service TBC - Sefton SDVC 20,000 
			 Star Centre - Rossendale (Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale) SDVC 20,000 
			 The Relationship Centre - Halton SDVC 20,000 
			 Victim Support, West (Workington and Whitehaven) and South Cumbria, (Barrow and Kendal) 20,000 
			 Warrington DA Support Services 20,000 
			 WAVE - Wigan SDVC 20,000 
			 Worst Kept Secret - Liverpool SDVC 20,000 
			   
			  Wales Region:  
			 Bridgend Women's Aid - Bridgend SDVC 40,000 
			 Caerphilly CBC, Blaenau Gwent DA Service - Caerphilly SDVC 20,000 
			 Cardiff Women's Safety Unit - Cardiff SDVC 20,000 
			 Carmarthenshire IDAA Service - Llanelli 20,000 
			 DA Resource Team - Merthyr Tydfil 20,000 
			 Monmouthshire County Council - Gwent (Cwmbran) SDVC 20,000 
			 Neath Women's Aid - Neath Port Talbot SDVC 20,000 
			 Newport City Council - Gwent (Newport) SDVC 20,000 
			 Pontypridd Safety Unit - Rhondda Cynon Taff SDVC 20,000 
			 Service TBC - Barry, Vale of Glamorgan 20,000 
			 Swansea Women's Aid / BAWSO - Swansea SDVC 20,000 
			 Tai Hafan - Pembrokeshire - Haverford west SDVC 20,000 
			 Tai Hafan - Wrexham SDVC 20,000 
			 Torfaen County Borough Council - Gwent (Torfaen) SDVC 20,000 
			 Women's Aid and Cymdeithas Tai Hafan - Llandudno/Prestatyn 20,000 
			 Total: 2,955,138 
		
	
	
		
			  Victims Fund: Sexual violence and childhood sexual abuse( 1) 
			   
			 Women's Support Network 28,038 
			 Eva Women's Aid (Redcar and Cleveland Women's Aid) 41,724 
			 Womankind (Bristol Women's Therapy Centre) 41,202 
			 Grimsby and Scunthorpe Rape Crisis 49,146 
			 Sexual and Domestic Abuse and Rape Advice Centre (SARAC) 15,250 
			 Voice UK 28,000 
			 1 This funding was awarded for support services on sexual violence and childhood sexual abuse however the organisations also support victims with multiple problems, e.g. domestic violence

Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929: Prosecutions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) males and  (b) females were (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted of an offence under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, broken down by age group, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The requested data relating to offences under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 are in the following table.
	The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	
		
			  Number of males and females, broken down by age group, proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts, for the offence of 'Child Destruction' under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, England and Wales, 1997 to 2006( 1,2) 
			1997  1998  1999  2000 
			  Sex  Age  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 Male 10-17 
			 Male 18-20 
			 Male 21 and over  1   
			 Male Total  1   
			   
			 Female 10-17 
			 Female 18-20 
			 Female 21 and over 
			 Female Total 
		
	
	
		
			2001  2002  2003  2004 
			  Sex  Age  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 Male 10-17 
			 Male 18-20   1  
			 Male 21 and over 1
			 Male Total 1  1  
			   
			 Female 10-17 
			 Female 18-20 
			 Female 21 and over 
			 Female Total 
		
	
	
		
			2005  2006 
			  Sex  Age  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 Male 10-17 
			 Male 18-20 
			 Male 21 and over  1   
			 Male Total  1   
			   
			 Female 10-17 
			 Female 18-20 1
			 Female 21 and over 1  1  
			 Female Total 2  1  
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used  Note: The number of people found guilty may exceed those proceeded against in a. particular year, as it may be the case that the proceedings in the magistrates court took place in the preceding year and they were found guilty at the Crown court in the following year, or the defendant was found guilty for a different offence to the original offence proceeded against.

Prisoners

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 30 April 2008,  Official Report, column 521W, on young offender institutions, if he will publish the average number of hours of purposeful activity per day in  (a) prisons which predominantly hold (i) adult male prisoners and (ii) adult female prisoners,  (b) young offender institutions for males and (c) juvenile institutions in each week in April 2008 as soon as that data becomes available.

Maria Eagle: The following table shows the provisional average number of hours of purposeful activity per day in prisons which predominately hold (a) adult male prisoners, (b) adult female prisoners and (c) male prisoners in young offender and (d) male prisoners in juvenile institutions, for each week in April 2008. No young offender or juvenile institutes are predominantly categorised as female. Therefore, the average number of hours for a female prisoner in a young offender or juvenile institution cannot be provided.
	
		
			  Average number of hours of purposeful activity per day 
			  Week commencing  Adult male prisons  Adult female prisons  Male young offenders institutions  Male juvenile institutions 
			 6 April 2008 3.6 3.9 3.7 4.2 
			 13 April 2008 3.5 4.1 3.7 4.3 
			 20 April 2008 3.6 4.1 3.8 4.3 
			 27 April 2008 3.5 4.1 3.8 4.1